Together we aim to improve the quality of boarding houses in the Inner West.​What is the Boarding House Roundtable?The Boarding House Roundtable is an initiative of the Neighbourhood Centre - a twice-yearly gathering of people who are interested in working together to improve the quality of boarding houses in the City of Sydney and Inner West Council areas. The Roundtable is convened by Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, and chaired by the CEO, Liz Yeo.

The Roundtable provides a forum to share information about what is already happening and host guest speakers, as well as identifying new opportunities that might be of interest to members of the group.

Why is Newtown Neighbourhood Centre Involved? Newtown Neighbourhood Centre is a key community agency in inner west Sydney, which has been supporting and providing services to boarding house residents for more than ten years. It manages a Boarding House Outreach Service (BHOS), funded through the NSW Specialist Homelessness services program, through which a team of caseworkers work with boarding house residents.

Almost half of all registered boarding houses (47.57% Source: Department Fair Trading November2017) in New South Wales are located within the City of Sydney and the Inner West Local Government Areas. It is impossible to know the exact number and location of unregistered boarding house properties, but it is estimated to be a significant number. These are areas which are under increasing gentrification with high land prices, and it is imperative to retain affordable housing stock.

Objectives of the Roundtable:

To promote, encourage and support good practice management in the general boarding house sector

To provide a forum for agencies and individuals to raise and resolve issues related to boarding houses in the City of Sydney and Inner West

To promote and protect the health and well-being of general boarding house residents.

To identify opportunities to increase the supply of appropriate, affordable Boarding House stock

To advocate for policy change to address identified needs of Boarding House residents

To advocate for alternative Boarding House models which address the changing needs and profiles of residents and in particular the growing numbers of women.

MembershipMembership of the round table is open to Government and non-Government agencies interested in improving the general boarding house sector.

The upcoming Boarding House Roundtable will be taking place on Tuesday, November 20th.